Student nurses set for Zambia mission

Student nurses Christina Powell (left) and Jessica Brazener are raising cash for The Butterfly Tree, a UK charity which works in malaria prevention and HIV education in Zambia.

Published:15:27Monday 08 August 2016

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Two student nurses from the Hucknall area are raising funds for a charity which helps stamp out disease in Zambia.

Christina Powell and Jessica Brazener, who study at De Montfort University in Leicester, will travel to the town of Livingstone, Zambia, in October, to volunteer in a local hospital as part of their course.

The pair are raising cash for The Butterfly Tree, a UK charity which works in malaria prevention and HIV education.

Christina, 25, of Hazelwood Drive, Hucknall, said: “Fundraising is going better than expected and we have already smashed our initial target of £500.

“I work for Boots in Nottingham and they have supported us by providing us with prizes for raffles/tombolas and offering to double our final fund raising total. We received a community grant from WH Smith of £500 and everything else has come from word of mouth.”

Christina met Jessica, 22, of Adelaide Grove in Top Valley, on their first day at university: “We car-share to Leicester ever day so we have become the best of friends.”

During the 16 day trip, they hope to get ‘a completely different experience to the NHS which might help us in a emergency setting or in places where you don’t have any back-up.’

Jessica said: “We hope to strengthen our knowledge on how countries lacking resources and funding manage disease epidemics that are not so prominent in the UK.”

Christina added: “The town of Livingstone has a population of 7,000 with only two doctors - so we will be doing anything and everything!”